Category: Jan’ Blog

What is it about energy drinks that is so appealing, is it the caffeine, B vitamins, are they hydrating or dehydrating? Why are they so popular with our youth and athletes?

(Red Bull, Amp Enerrgy, Rockstar Energy, Monster Energy)

The sugar-free energy drinks are sweetened with aspartame and acesullfate sweeteners. Now there has been lots of debate about the merits and hazards of artificial sweeteners, particularly aspartame, evidence based data demonstrates headaches as a possible side effect of aspartame, as for weight gain, appetite, the jury is still out.

The key stimulant in energy drinks is caffeine (derived from coffee, tea, chocolate, kola, yerba mate and guarana, added to soda pop and energy drinks), the content in a 250 ml can is usually 80mg equivalent to one cup of coffee, Health Canada caffeine recommendations, maximuim caffeine intakes for children and women of childbearing age are: 45 mg/d 4-6 yrs, 62.5 mg/d 7-9 yrs. 85 mg/d 10-12 yrs, 2.5mg/kg/d for adolescents older than 13 yr and 300mg/d for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers. For the average adult, 400mg/d is recommended except where there are health (ie., cardiac or mental health issues) or interactions with medications.

Energy drinks also contain B vitamins, taurine (amino acid) and herbs, all of which are available in a healthy diet.

It can be dangerous to mix energy drinks with alcohol, (less aware of intoxicating effects of alcohol) and could lead to risky behaviours, violence and car accidents.

There may be dangerous interactions with medications, particularly for those with mental health issues.

Athletes should not substitute energy drinks for sports drinks as they will not provide the necessary electrolytes for endurance or high intensity activities longer than an hour.

If you really want a carbonated beverage during the summer that will hydrate you and has no sugar or artifical sugars, salt or calories, try the sparkling waters, If anyone has mad a homemade unsweetened energy drink that is ultra-healthy, please contact me.

Mistreated chickens were recently recovered from the fraser valley and are now living & thriving at my aunt’s house in Deep Cove! Having twice visited and seen them happily wandering in the vast garden , I have witnessed just how delightful these free chickens are; scrambling between your feet. If you would like them as pets, please make sure you fence off your kale, its a favourite treat of theirs!

Now we have the “potato diet”. You too can lose 117lb in a year by eating only potatoes! Andrew Taylor from Australia https://www.menshealth.com/weight-loss/a19536403/can-the-potato-diet-help-you-lose-weight-safely/entered the “Spud Fit Challenge” and is boasting about the virtues of the potato. He said that you can meet most of your nutritional needs with the potato, especially if you are overweight and have some stored nutrition to waste. He ate only potatoes, all day everyday for 1 year, with skim soymilk to mash, BBQ and sweet chili sauce to flavour, no exercise for the first month and then 90 min/day subsequent months, supplemented with Vit B12.

But I agree with Dr. Nadolsky’s (Taylor’s MD) assessment that the vegan diet is restrictive, the ketogenic very restrictive but the potato diet is one of the most restrictive diets available. There are many other healthier ways of losing weight.

Quite illuminating, it seems that the low carbohydrate diets have equal impact on weight loss compared with low fat diets in the long term, the issue around sustainability of low carbohydrate diets remains questionable, and there is inadequate information about effect on mortality and CV events. The research on protective effect on mortality has only shown significant differences with legumes, fruit, low glycemic foods, and increased dietary fibre, particularily soluble fibre.

Desiree Neilson a private consultant is working with a UBC project promoting the ketogenic diet for diabetes, type 2. Her clients who follow the ketogenic diet, need to achieve nutritional ketosis (0.5-5 mmol/l ketones) usually with less than 50g carbohydrate per day. It usually takes 3-4 days for the metabolism to shift, the diet is 80% fat (mostly monounsaturated and saturated fat), 15% protein and 5% carbohydrate. Omega 6 fatty acids drive inflammation so are avoided.

Perhaps the best way that this diet would be effective for my clients is that it helps reduce cravings. The diet is being promoted by UBC Okanagan through pharmacist at Pharmasave, http://emil.ok.ubc.ca/?page_id=213

In fact, on April 28th, I complained to our local Pharmasave because their local advertisement stated they were providing a therapeutic diet without having a registered dietitian involved in their practice.. As a registered dietitian, responsible to the provincial college of dietitians, I need to meet a code of ethics and our diets are individualized based on evidence based research, as yet the ketogenic diet does not have double blind, rigorous testing and we know clients require additional sodium, magnesium, thiamine, Vit D, Vit C, calcium, selenium, fibre and folate to meet their daily requirements.

Desiree explains that for the diet to be sustainable, clients need to be highly motivated and recommends the assistance of a registered dietitian to support clients changing back to a regular diet.

This is a great idea, an easy way of incorporating healthy good tasting veggies in your diet! I’m also impressed that they sponsored a collegue of mine to go to the Dietitians of Canada conference! Way to go!

I was eating some mixed nuts tonight and found two brazil nuts in my 1/4 c or small handful which I try to restrict myself to for weight control. Why do we eat brazil nuts I thought and decided to google them.

Check out this site, seems like they have lots of benefits due to their high selenium content, anti-aging, anti-inflammatory, good for the skin, helps lower cholesterol, reduces cancer risk… baldness; j

So I was researching whether coffee was linked strongly with reflux disease and my sources have told me that it is the 7th most common complaint from patients who are experiencing reflux but the actual evidence in the literature is mixed, it is still not known whether it is the caffeine or other products in the coffee that cause the discomfort.
Simultaneously I saw this recent well written article on the risk of having acrylamide in your coffee and decided to share it with you. Thanks to my colleague Andy, the RD.Coffee can cause cancer

Thanksgiving dinner
My son was coming to visit, he has celiac disease and I wanted to make something special so I found my favourite gluten free pastry recipe, filled the pie with sliced Fuji apples and my own mincemeat made from spartan home grown apples and green tomatoes!
My daughters boyfriend who is vegetarian rated it 10/10. I was very pleased with the results, maybe not be best choice if you have diabetes but using local ingredients mad me proud.

Its exciting to share my knowledge after attending the intensive sports nutrition training at the Institution National du Sport du Quebec with some of Canada’s most acclaimed sports nutritionist in November.
The literature supports eating a high carbohydrate diet for elite athletes because metablizing carbohydrate is 5.5% more efficient than fat. One can experiment with different gels, sports drinks, hydration, and carbohydrates during training. An elite athlete will burn 3000-3500 kcal during a marathon, with with adequate training can store ~2000 kcal as muscle glycogen, 500 kcal liver glycogen, and 400 kcal gap supplemented during the race with sports drinks or gels. For those who are looking for an over 3 hr finish, the source of your energy isn’t as important.
But going back to the question of nutrition to support training, there are a few things to consider, are you trying to lose weight? Are you overtraining? You need adequate nutrients to protect your immune system.
We determine the amount of calories, carbohydrate and protein based on your level of training, weight and overall goals as above.
As a general rule, snacks should have 60g carb and about 18 g protein-
High-quality protein (~10 g):
– 2 eggs, 35 g lean meat, 40 g lean chicken, 50 g fish
– 300 ml milk, 30 g cheese, 70 g cottage cheese,200 g yogurt
– 120 g tofu, 400 ml soy beverage
• Compact forms
– 15-20 g protein powder, 20-30 g protein bar, 120-150 ml liquid meal supplement
Carbohydrates are found in many recovery foods including:
1 c chocolate milk has 20 g carb and 8 g protein, 125 ml yogurt has 25 g carbohydrate and 3 g protein, A large banana will provide another 25 g carb and 2 g protein, an orange has 15 g carb and 1 g protein.

Another lovely guide is using the plate model for supporting different intensities of sport:

On the coast, it’s a great idea to make your own soups from scratch, choose the ingredients that are added, and adjust the salt with a variety of vegetables and herbs.
I’m looking for a soup that is dehydrated, easy to prepare, high in salt to maintain sodium levels for an athlete who is competing in the upcoming Tougher Mudder, an 8 hour overnight, 50 mile race in Los Angeles
He wanted a gluten free chicken noodle soup. Haven’t been able to come up with this… but there are a few alternatives, only the chicken bouillon cubes are available dehydrated, so far in my search.
Not that anyone else on the coast is crazy enough to do this race but see the best choices that I found:
GoBIO Organic Chicken Bouillon Cubes with 451 mg sodium per cup
and Campbells Herb Chicken & Rice with 770mg sodium per cup!

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The owner of the site is Jan Stephens who is a registered dietitian with more than 25 years clinical experience who is passionate about helping folks to avoid or manage chronic disease and reach their health potential.